File:1982 Saehan Maepsy 새한 맵시.jpg

When Shinjin Motors was abandoned by Toyota, and it teamed up with General Motors, the company's name changed to General Motors Korea (GMK# initially, before becoming Saehan. Saehan initially produced the Opel-designed Gemini, but soon replaced it with the Maepsy, based on the Isuzu I-Mark, which in turn was based on the Opel Kadett Mk. 3. In the small but growing South Korean market, it competed against Kia's Mazda-designed Brisa and Hyundai's homegrown #and wildly popular# Pony.

The Maepsy initially struggled against the competition. But in 1981, when the new military dictatorship of Chun Doo-hwan forced Kia to give up its Brisa #and in return, force Saehan and Hyundai to give up light trucks#, it was given a new lease on life. #It bears remembering that South Korea had been under 20 years of a different military dictatorship already, and its economic plans were the key reason for the existence of an automotive industry in the first place.#

A normal Maepsy came with an expensive 1.5-liter imported Opel engine. But thanks to the forced consolidation, early 1980s Maepsys could also be had with the 1.3-liter Kia engine that had been intended for the Kia Brisa. This example is equipped with the Kia engine.

Under Daewoo Business Group ownership, Saehan changed its name again, to Daewoo, in 1983. Daewoo Business Group went bankrupt in 2001, and Daewoo Motors became part of General Motors, initially operating as GM Daewoo before dropping the Daewoo name altogether and again becoming GM Korea in 2011.